Economy minister to consult on speeding up corporate lending

Thursday, January 29, 2009, 10:45

Economy Minister Gordon Bajnai will consult, in the name of the government, with the Hungarian Bank Association and financial market watchdog PSzÁF in the interest of getting banks to start steady lending to businesses, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány said at an extraordinary session of Parliament.

Hungary's bank system is holding back with their corporate lending even to businesses that have markets and need credit to keep production running, Gyurcsány said. Banks must speed up their lending.

Bajnai will meet with banking sector leaders at the beginning of February to try to find a solution to the problem. (MTI – Econews)

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) said yesterday in a preliminary release of the main forecasts from its quarterly "Inflation Report", due tomorow, that economic growth could reach 4.7% in 2018, higher than the 4.4% growth it forecast earlier.

Retail sales in Hungary rose 6.4% year-on-year in October, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a second reading of data released on Tuesday. The KSH lowered the rate from the 6.6% figure published in a preliminary reading on December 5.

The Hungarian Snooker Gala series of exhibition events continues with its fourth edition on January 26, this time featuring no less than four professional snooker players meeting across the green baize, including fan favorite Judd Trump, ex-world champ Stuart Bingham, and rising stars Luca Brecel and Jack Lisowski.

E-commerce companies in Hungary realize 35-37% of their yearly turnover around Christmas time, with significant activities continuing after the holidays, when the period of returning and swapping products begins, according to a press release from Deloitte.

Following a special meeting to decide on a new name reflecting its automotive profile and that it belonging to the Wallis Group, Altera Nyrt., the seventh largest firm on the Budapest Stock Exchange (BÉT), will be known from now on as AutoWallis Nyrt., according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.

Despite falling 0.7 of a percentage point from the preceding month, Hungaryʼs annual inflation rate reached 3.2% in November, the joint-highest in the European Union, alongside Estonia and Romania, according to data from the European Commissionʼs official statistical agency Eurostat.

Hungaryʼs police must rein in unnecessary and excessive force, including the use of tear gas, against peaceful protesters, Amnesty International said Monday, while also criticizing the physical ejection of two MPs from the state TV building, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.

Hungarian startup CollMot Entertainment, mentored by Budapest-based Design Terminal, organized a Christmas drone display over the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.